


Hamster Wheel

by ThatMasterOnline



Category: Far Cry 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-13 13:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatMasterOnline/pseuds/ThatMasterOnline
Summary: King Min brings a new hamster home from the pet store, and the story unfolds as he tries to adjust to his new home, and a curious rat who lives just outside the walls of his enclosure.





	1. New Pet

**Author's Note:**

> Short chapter is short, but I just wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Inspiration for this story can be found in this beautiful piece of art here:
> 
> https://lynolch.tumblr.com/post/173844963781/hamster-ajay-king-mings-pet-rat-sabal-sabal

Tiny ears twitched as the little hamster slept, and King Min smiled fondly as his pet let out a quiet yawn, relaxing into his tiny pillow of a bed. His little hamster had had a long day, moving homes, but King Min just had to have this one for himself. This hamster was the baby of a hamster King Min had owned as a child. He recognized the eyes in the pet store and demanded to bring him home immediately, even though he was technically too grief-stricken to be moved yet. His new pet had lost his mother only days ago, and the added stress of moving, according to the pet store, would prove too much for the young hamster. It had been a long, traumatizing day for the tiny pet, but King Min was glad he seemed to be recovering well. He smiled fondly, and thought of Ishwari, the hamster he’d owned as a child. 

He’d loved her dearly, but he’d been a child, and she’d escaped when he accidentally left her enclosure open. She’d returned the next day, but a short while later when his mother discovered his hamster had gotten pregnant, presumably off an unfortunate pack of rats that lived in the walls of the palace, she’d insisted the hamster be returned to the pet store. The pet store had told him that Ishwari had given birth to two children, but that one of them had tragically passed away mere days after birth, eaten by a stray rat. 

Pagan had stopped calling the pet store for updates after that. Today, though, he’d happened across the unusually tiny hamster, and had recognized Ishwari’s surviving baby immediately. 

According to the pet store, the hamster had been small, smaller than hamsters usually were, more susceptible to stress, and prone to illness. They suspected the grief of losing his sibling had permanently stunted his growth. They had adamantly advised against moving such a delicate hamster to a new home days after losing his mother, but Pagan had held firm, and now Ishwari’s baby was back home at last.

“I haven’t given you a name yet, have I?” He cooed quietly to the sleeping hamster, “Then I’ll call you...Ajay.”


	2. New Home

Bringing him home so soon HAD been a bad idea. The little hamster cried constantly, trembled just as much, and never so much as moved from his little pillow. He wasn't eating, he wasn’t drinking, and by the end of the day it was showing. King Min didn’t want to traumatize his poor hamster further, but...he needed water!! Dipping a pinky into the water dish, King Min held the finger to the little hamster, who scampered away the second he approached. Finally he cornered the little thing, holding the water close to his mouth, but little Ajay refused to drink. Sighing, King Min moved the water dish closer to the bed and retreated, leaving the hamster alone.

“Momma...momma…!” Ajay wailed in the corner behind a fake bookshelf, praying the giant would just leave him alone. He was an adult hamster, but he behaved like a child. His sister had been eaten by a rat, and so Ajay was terrified of everything, and never left his mother’s side...until she died. And look what had happened without his momma here to protect him! His momma was gone, and he’d been kidnapped in his sleep, and this giant was torturing him! 

“Momma!” He was so thirsty, and the giant was gone, but he could be back any minute, so he didn’t dare risk leaving the bookshelf to get water. 

“Momma...Momma, I’m THIRSTY…!” 

Unbeknownst to Ajay, a rat sat just on the other side of the wall Ajay was nestled against. He’d heard the hamster’s cries and settled against the wall, wanting to provide comfort. The giant was too close, though, and he couldn’t risk any behaviour that might let he giant know he was there. Still, he heard the hamster’s sad little wails, and wanted nothing more than to release him from his prison. Right then and there, he vowed that he would.

“Momma…” He felt sick, he was hungry, and thirsty, and so tired but afraid to fall asleep in case the giant came back. But he was so, SO tired, he never had any energy...Try as he might to stay awake he eventually succumbed to exhaustion, his little eyes falling closed, still wet with tears of grief and suffering.

The next morning there was a giant green...something, right in the middle of where he was. Ajay listened as closely as he could, and he didn’t hear the slightest peep. The giant must be far away. He scampered over to it, and found that the something had a big opening, and inside was some kind of something. He wanted to run away, but...it had a roof. If it was empty, it could be a place to hide. He darted towards it, and found the bottom covered in some kind of something that matched the coat he was wearing exactly. He could hide in this! He jumped into it, and found it was comfortable, too! 

“Ajay?” He squeaked and hid in his little home.

“Ajay? I decided to name you Ajay, is that okay? Ajay, are you in your home? Well, I won't bother you in there. I’ll see you when you come out later.” The footsteps left, and there was no sounds after that. Ajay stayed in his home, though. He didn’t trust the giant, not yet. 

Eventually it was quiet for long enough that Ajay was able to sneak out and get his water. He was SO THIRSTY! It had been ages since he’d last had water with that giant always lurking around. As soon as he finished his water he went and gobbled down a lot of his food, then went back for water again. Right then, he heard scratching coming from the corner behind his bookshelf. Something was trying to get in! He HATED it here! Why couldn’t he be safe at the store with him momma! He grabbed food in his mouth, he ran back to his home and bundled up inside, putting the food in the corner, just in case he was forced to hide out here for hours again. The scratching continued for a few minutes, but then he heard loud squeaking, and the scratching stopped. 

“Ajay?” It was the giant again!

“Ajay, I brought you something you might like. Are you still in your home? I’ll put it in there.” Suddenly something rolled into his house. Ajay squeaked, but it stopped and did nothing. It was colourful, a colourful ball. It was inside his house, too, so he could look at it without having to worry about the giant. He tapped it with a paw and it rolled away, and Ajay felt happy despite the danger he was in. A toy? The giant had brought him a toy? He swatted at it, chasing it when it rolled away again. He jumped on it, but all that ended up happening was the ball rolled, sending him and the ball sprawling. He was up on his feet and chasing after the ball again, and it wasn’t until he knocked the ball into his water dish that he realized he was outside his home. When had that happened? Oh, maybe when the ball had rolled over on him. He looked around, and the giant was right there, looking at him. When a giant hand came down towards him he squeaked, cowering, but then the hand retreated and he opened his eyes to see that the ball had been taken out of his water dish and was now right in front of him. The giant...was looking at him. Just looking. He...wanted him to keep playing, maybe? Was that why he had grabbed his ball out of the water dish? Maybe he thought Ajay couldn’t get it on his own. 

He grabbed his ball, but it rolled away again, and he chased after it. Tentatively he played with the ball, and the giant did nothing, simply watching him play. He didn’t know giants very well, but this one seemed...happy? That was what his mother had said it was called. Teeth were special to giants, she had said, and so they only showed them when they were happy about something. This one was happy that he was playing? Well...he could keep playing. Playing was fun, after all. So he played, and slowly he got so into it that he forgot the giant was even watching him. He jumped and fumbled and swatted and had all sorts of fun. The most fun he’d had since his mother got sick, anyways. Momma...he stopped playing, at first worried the giant would punish him, but he didn’t, he just kept watching. Ajay went to get a drink of water after all the playing, and then laid down on his pillow. The giant said something in its language, but he didn’t look upset. He was still doing that happy thing with his mouth. Did this giant...not want to hurt him? Maybe he just wanted to watch him...do things. Play, eat, sleep. Maybe the giant just wanted to watch him do things. 

He closed his eyes to sleep, and a peek at the giant showed he was right where he was when Ajay had looked last; watching him and not doing anything. He closed his eyes. He would feel better inside his house, but the giant couldn’t watch him there, and he had to make the giant happy, and the giant wanted to watch him. Oh well. The bed was here to be slept on, anyways. Suddenly he felt something on his back. He flinched, but it was a light pressure, and it trailed down his back and went away. And then it happened again, the pressure down his back that went away. It happened a few more times, and Ajay didn’t know what to make of the giant’s behaviour now. It wasn’t hurting him. It was just...feeling his fur, maybe. Momma said giants didn’t have fur, maybe he just wanted to know what fur felt like. Maybe he wished he had fur. It didn’t hurt, anyways. It actually didn’t feel that bad. Ajay decided he would let the giant keep feeling his fur, and then a few seconds later it stopped, and the giant went away. Oh, giants slept too. Maybe the giant knew he was sleeping and was wishing him goodnight before he left. That was it; this was a friendly giant. Sort of. Ajay closed his eyes and went to sleep.


	3. New...Friends?

Finally. It was late at night, the giant was gone, and Amita, stupid rat, wasn’t here to argue with him. He went to the wall where the hamster was and kept scratching. He’d heard a lot of squeaking, but it had quieted down towards the end of the day, and he’d even thought he’d heard the young hamster playing. He was probably getting used to it. Good. If he was happy in his new home, then Sabal didn’t need to worry so much about the young hamster, but he was all alone and needed a friend. He spent the whole night scratching until he finally broke through just before morning. Judging from the cries, he’d assumed it was only a baby, but the hamster in front of him looked fully grown, if considerably smaller than any hamster he’d ever seen. He was sleeping, at least, and it looked like he was sleeping peacefully. He snuck inside the hamster's home, away from the giant’s watchful eye. The giant had an unusual hatred of the rats here, and nobody knew why. He decided to wait until the hamster woke up to introduce himself. After the stressful day he’d had yesterday, Sabal didn’t want to interrupt the hamster’s sleep.

***

Ajay woke the next morning, yawning and stretching. The giant wasn’t here right now. Maybe he was still sleeping. Good, maybe he could sleep in his home for a little bit. He got up and went to his home, but found a rat sleeping inside! A rat! His sister had been eaten by a rat, he was there when it happened! He squeaked in alarm and ran to hide behind the bookshelf, and he found a giant hole that the rat must have come from. He couldn’t hide here, there must be more rats on the other side of the hole! He darted back and forth, trying to squeeze under his bed, under his water dish, anything. He had nowhere to hide! He was going to get eaten!

Sabal woke to panicked squeaking, and realized his presence must have alarmed the little hamster. He went outside and saw him running around nonstop. 

“It’s alright, I won’t hurt you.”

“No! Stay away! Evil rat!” Hamsters and rats didn’t normally have any bad relationships, in fact a hamster had come to live with Mohan for a little while. Why did this hamster hate rats? 

“I won't hurt you. I live here, and I want to help you get used to this place.”

“Why? What do you want with me?”

“I heard you yesterday, crying for your mother. I wanted to help make you feel better.” 

“You...You…” Sabal sighed. This hamster was afraid of everything, it seemed. There was a little ball beside him, and he gently nudged it in the hamster’s direction, then he sat down and opened his arms like he was waiting for Ajay to pass it back. Ajay glared at him, then kicked the ball back uncertainly. Sabal smiled, passing the ball back and trying to ignore the fact that the hamster was glaring at him all the while. Finally the little hamster mellowed out, playing a calm game of pass with him.

“Why are there rats living here?”

“We have a little colony behind the walls here.”

“What do you want with me?”

“I want to help make you feel better.”

“And what about the other rats?”

“They…” Sabal sighed. “They want nothing to do with you. Your home is too out in the open, the giant could find us easily.”

“Is that...a bad thing?”

“The giant here...hates rats. Nobody knows why. You know, hamsters and rats normally get along fairly well…” Ajay shook his head.

“No. I hate rats.”

“Why?” Sabal saw tears blossom in the little hamster’s eyes, saw his whole body start to shake, and immediately felt bad for pressing the issue.

“I-I’m sorry, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to upset you…”

“A rat ate my sister!” 

“I’m sorry...ATE?” For a rat to eat a hamster was unheard of! It was akin to cannibalism! Sabal wanted to ask more, but the little hamster had started crying in earnest, curling up into a ball.

“I-I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you...can I come closer?”

“Stay away…”

“I just want to give you a hug, that’s all...please? I want to say I’m sorry, and...I want to be a rat you can be friends with.”

“I’ll never be friends with a rat!”

“Have I hurt you?”

“...No…”

“I scared you a lot, but I tried to make it better, right?”

“I guess…”

“Please? I’m sorry I upset you, and I want to make you feel better...I said I didn’t want you to be here all alone and I don't want you to be upset all alone either. Please?” Ajay ran into his house without answering, and Sabal decided to sit just outside his house.

“I’m sorry. Can we start over? My name is Sabal. I’m a rat, and I live behind the walls of your home here.”

“...Go away.” Sabal sighed.

“I like the colour blue, so I’m wearing a blue jacket. Rats like to have symbols so they know which rats are part of their colony, and that’s what the yellow is for.”

“...Hamsters don’t do that.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” He absolutely knew that, but he wanted to let the little hamster think he was teaching something. “Then how do you know who’s in your colony?”

“Well, we just know. You know your mom and your dad and your brothers and sisters because they’re you mom and your dad, and you can’t not know what they look like...Except me. I don’t know what my dad looks like…”

“And what about hamsters that aren’t your family?” Sabal pressed on before the hamster could get upset and cry again.

“...What about them?”

“Well, don't you have anyone besides your family in hamster colonies?”

“...No. It’s just family. Families are really small, so you know who everyone is. Other families live in other places.”

“Do you argue over who lives where?”

“Not really. Hamsters are-” He heard a sharp squeak that wasn’t his own, and looked up to see Sabal curled up next to him inside his house. It...looked more like it was less “next to him” and more “close to the wall”, though.

“Why-”

“Ajay? Ajay, are you here?” Sabal shifted uncomfortably, and Ajay squinted at him, leaving his house so the giant could see him. The giant was a nice giant, but Sabal said the giant hated rats. Ajay hated rats too, but Sabal looked like he thought something bad would happen if the giant saw him. So he went outside, that way the giant wouldn’t have any reason to look inside his house.

“Oh, Ajay, were you sleeping? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Here, I brought something for you.” He placed down a little stuffed elephant, and Ajay poked at it a little bit, playing with his new toy. When the giant saw him playing he smiled, felt Ajay’s fur again - wait, so it wasn't just for night time? Maybe he just wanted to feel it - and then left. Ajay waited until he was gone to go back in his house.

“...The giant is gone…” Sabal hesitantly poked his head out, then went back inside the house.

“...You...saved my life, you know.”

“I...did?”

“The giant kills any rat he sees. You distracted him so he wouldn’t look inside your house, right?”

“You looked afraid. ...I don’t like being afraid, and so neither do you, probably.”

“No, I don’t like being afraid. Thank you so much. ...I’m going to go back inside the walls now, it's too open here for me now.” Ajay nodded.

“Um...Will you come back?”

“...Maybe at night, when I know the giant is asleep.”

“Okay. Um...the giant said…he says Ajay a lot, so I think that’s my name. I guess I like it, so you can call me that.”


End file.
